In view of the reported association between physical activity on the one hand, and reduced anxiety, depression, suicide, and heart disease on the other, it seems reasonable to propose that quality of life would be higher in those aging individuals who remain physically active. However, the underlying factors responsible for adoption of, and adherence to, a physically active life style are not well understood. There is conflicting evidence, for example, regarding the question of whether former athletes and non-athletes resemble or differ from one another in their exercise patterns during later life. The broad objectives of this investigation shall be to evaluate the quality of life, psychological mood, exercise patterns, and general health status of former athletes (N equals 735) and a random sample of non-athletes (N equals 500) who entered the University of Wisconsin-Madision during the period 1960-64. Preliminary research has revealed that these former athletes and non-athletes not only differed in athleticism at eighteen years of age, but they also differed psychologically as measured by the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). The students who entered the University in the Fall of 1960, 1961, and 1962 will be re-evaluated during 1980, 1981, and 1982 in the present investigation. The initial follow-up (1980-82) will be carried out by means of mail questionnaires that have been designed to quantify exercise patterns, health status, psychological mood, and quality of life. Hypotheses have been generated on the basis of these constructs, and the primary statistical model to be employed will consist of stepwise discriminant function analysis.